Iraqi oil exports reach 2003 levels

BAGHDAD, June 11 (UPI) -- Crude oil exports from Iraq reached 2.4 million barrels per day, their highest level since after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the Iraqi oil minister said.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, who faces criticism from lawmakers over the performance of the Iraqi energy sector during his tenure, said oil exports reached 2.4 million bpd and plans are to raise that to 4 million bpd, the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

The announcement is consistent with earlier statements from Assim Jihad, the Oil Ministry spokesman, who pointed to a rise in oil exports by some 85,000 barrels per day from May to April.

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq began exports from its Taq Taq and Tawke fields June 1, and Sameer al-Salihi, an official with the oil ministry's North Oil Co., said production from Kirkuk fields rose from 580,000 barrels to 670,000 barrels per day.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports crude oil production averaged around 2.4 million bpd in 2008, up from 2.1 million bpd in 2007. The average pre-war production was 2.8 million bpd in 2003.